Country report: Spotlight on Swaziland

Some basic facts

Joined Commonwealth: 1968
Capital: Mbabane
Population: 1,168,000 (2008)
GDP per capita growth: 0.3% per annum (1990–2006)
Official language: siSwati, English
Time: GMT plus 2 hours
Currency: lilangeni, plural emalangeni (E)
Last elections: September 2008
Next elections: 2013
Head of State: King Mswati III
Head of Government: Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
Ruling party: No party system
Independence: 6 September 1968

What is the recent political history in Swaziland?

From the mid-1980s there was building pressure for a return to multiparty democracy. The reintroduction of universal adult suffrage in 1993 only served to increase this pressure. There was from the mid-1990s a succession of strikes organised by the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions and increasingly public activity by opposition movements.

A Constitutional Review Commission was set up in July 1996 to solicit the views of the Swazi nation on the type of constitution they wanted, by visiting all the constituencies in the country and then submitting a report, including a draft new constitution by 1998.

Elections for pre-selected candidates were held in October 1998. About 60 per cent of the registered voters cast their vote. The King confirmed Dr Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini as prime minister and announced his new cabinet, which included Senator A R V Khoza as deputy prime minister and Senator John Carmichael as finance minister. Most of the 16 ministers were royal appointees rather than elected members of parliament.

The Constitutional Review Commission finally presented its report to the King in November 2000, but it was not published. In 2001 the King attempted to give himself additional powers to contain the pressure for constitutional reform but climbed down in the face of national and international protests. In August 2001 he called a national gathering and the Commission’s chairperson announced – to an audience of only about 10,000 people (the last national gathering was attended by 250,000) – that the King’s powers were to be enlarged but gave no details of the fruits of the five-year review.

Subsequently the King set up a new commission to draft a new constitution and the draft was released in May 2003. However, under this constitution the country remains an absolute monarchy. The Assembly is to include at least nine women members (of an increased total of up to 76) and the Senate 13 (of up to 31). Though freedom of assembly is allowed and the ban on political parties therefore technically lifted, under the continuing tinkhundla election system there is no role for parties.

Assembly and Senate elections for the pre-selected candidates were held in October 2003 and the turnout was again low, especially in urban areas. A Commonwealth expert team was present. It said that while there were shortcomings “the elections were well conducted”, but that “no elections can be credible when they are for a parliament which does not have power and when political parties are banned”. In November 2003 the King confirmed A T Dlamini as prime minister.

The new constitution – drafted by the commission which was chaired by Prince David Dlamini – was approved by parliament and signed by the King in July 2005. It came into effect in February 2006.

In the first elections under the new constitution, a new parliament was elected in September 2008. The election was observed by a Commonwealth expert team. The King appointed Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini as prime minister; he had previously served in that position 1996–2003.

How does the Commonwealth Secretariat help Swaziland?

The following articles describe some of the Commonwealth’s projects, which aim to assist the Southern African country:

· Swazi officials analyse challenges of implementing local government reforms

Neighbouring Mozambique and Namibia share their experiences at Commonwealth meeting

· Helping to deliver justice in Swaziland

Issuing key rulings in Swazi courts

· New study casts light on decentralisation in Swaziland

Policy, managerial and implementation issues of local government reform tackled in Secretariat book

· Inclusive governance critical for progress, says Deputy Secretary-General

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba urges Swazi cabinet to develop partnerships with private sector and civil society

· Commonwealth Expert Team issues final report on 2008 Swaziland Elections

Report distributed to the Swaziland Government, political and civil society organisations and the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Swaziland

· Training programme aims to advance ICT strategies in Africa

Policy-makers who formulate ICT agendas for governments attended a workshop organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of Swaziland

Case study (2009): Strengthening Swaziland’s new constitution

Legislative drafters help deepen democracy and the rule of law

In July 2005, HM King Mswati III of Swaziland signed into law the country’s new Constitution after a constitutional gap of more than 30 years, enshrining the rights to life, liberty, equality before the law, and freedom of conscience. But this pivotal moment was only the beginning of the journey. Swaziland now has to adapt its entire legal system to fit the Constitution, which aims to merge centuries-old Swazi traditions with democratic principles.

To help with this immense task, the Swazi Government requested help from the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) which sent legislative drafters Mary Chitalu Mulanda of Zambia and Valera Fikile Dlamini of South Africa to Mbabane in mid-2007 for a two-year posting. They were attached to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Ms Dlamini and Ms Mulanda worked at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Ms Dlamini explains: “The new Constitution, which upholds the Bill of Rights, the rule of law and the promotion of good governance, will also promote the codification of Swazi law and custom, making it more accessible for the courts and the public. Our biggest challenge is to help find Swazi law and custom and distil from it concrete legal principles that can be translated into legislation: the interfacing of the common law and Swazi law and custom.”

She cites land tenure and family law as areas where Swaziland has important but so far unwritten rules that need to be translated into a home-grown, accessible legal system to “change the judicial landscape of the country”.

Ms Dlamini has worked with counterparts to draft laws, including the Children’s Protection and Welfare Bill, the Rules for the Recognition of Swazi Law and Custom Bill, the Marriage Bill and the Council of Chiefs Bill. Meanwhile, Ms Mulanda has worked on the Judicial Code of Conduct Bill, the Leadership Code of Conduct Bill, the Referendum Bill, the Public Service Bill, the Refugees Bill and the Economic Empowerment of Citizens Bill.

“When the laws become Acts of Parliament, people will notice that they are people-centred, and promote their civil, political and economic rights,” says Ms Dlamini.

Both Ms Dlamini and Ms Mulanda have trained two counterparts who can continue working on the drafting of new laws after the CFTC experts have completed their postings in late 2009.

Ms Dlamini states that she is glad to have the opportunity to play a role in the strengthening of Swaziland’s Constitution.

“I will have changed the face of the statute book of Swaziland in that it will have well-researched and drafted Acts of Parliament, and I would have worked with my Swazi counterparts who will continue to build on their skills and experience to train others in legislative drafting,” she says.

Ms Dlamini believes she has benefited from her assignment in Mbabane: “The work in Swaziland has expanded my knowledge of constitutional law and customary law – knowledge that I will take with me to my next assignment, and this experience will stand me in good stead in the future.”

She had previously worked as a Legislative Counsel at the Law Reform Commission in the Cayman Islands, Assistant Parliamentary Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers of the British Virgin Islands, and Director of Legislative Drafting in St Lucia.

Ms Mulanda has worked for the Zambian and Namibian Governments as well as for the Government of Botswana under the CFTC, and belongs to the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

“The work in Swaziland has increased my confidence in legislative drafting. It has given me the opportunity to understand not only the Constitution of Swaziland, but also the constitutions of other African countries,” says Ms Mulanda.

For more information on Swaziland, click here

Secretariat Links:

• Country Profile: Swaziland